Power-driven hammer.



A. A. GOUBEBT.

POWER DRIVEN HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.2, 1911.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

2 SHBETSSHEET 1.

A. A. GOUBERT. POWER DRIVEN HAMMER.

Patented N0v.4, 1913.

2 SHEETS-$111213 2.

COLUMBIA PYLANDGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON D AUGUST A. GOUBERT, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

POWER-DRIVEN HAMMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Application filed December 2, 1911. Serial No. 663381.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST A. GOUBERT, a citizen oft-he United States, residing in the city of Englewood, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Power-Driven Hammers, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to power-driven hammers operated by the aid of an agent such as steam or compressed air and has for its object the production of an effective and durable hammer, of the kind referred to, having the advantages and employing the features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation showing a view of one of the broader sides of a power-driven hammer made in accordance with this invention; F 2 is an elevation showing a view of the left side of the power-driven hammer shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view from above of a. horizontal section, made along the line 1, 2, of the power-driven hammer shown in.

Fig. 1; Fig. at is anelevation, mostly in ver tical section, of the power-driven hammer shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a plan VIEW. from above of thesame; Fig. 6 is a plan View from above of the same, being partly in horizontalsection made along the line 3, 4 of Fig. 4;; Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in vertical section made along the line 5, 6

of Fig. 5. showing a detail; Fig. 8 is an elevation, partly in vertical section made along the line 7, 8 of Fig. 5, showing a detail; and Fig. 9 is a plan View from above, partly in horizontal section made along the line 9, 10 of Fig. 4.

The arrows of the drawings indicate the directions of the several sectional views.

There are two distinct types of steam hammers. In the first, the steam, acting upon a piston, raises a weight which is allowed to drop by gravity. In the second, a double-acting steam cylinder is used. This invention relates to power-driven hammers of the second type and is designed to overcome disadvantages hereto-fore existing therein and disadvantages heretofore existing generally in power-driven hammers.

In order to secure effective and continuous service, it is necessary that a power-driven hammerbe constructedwith the fewest possible parts apt to jar loose, such as bolts, nuts, cotters, valve parts and the like. The hammer proper or ram should be substantially free from other parts at the moment of striking, so that the percussion cannot injuriously affect parts such as the piston rod or valve gear. Its weight should be as great as consistent with the design, the work to be done and the pressure of the steam. Its mass and the sectional area of its striking part should be such as to readily absorb the re-action without straining the fiber of the metal composing it.

v In a power-driven hammer made in accordance with this invention, acylinder, consisting of a heavy steel casting,is preferably the hammer that strikes the blow. Such hammer slides freely on guides with which the frame of the power-driven hammer is provided and its'Inass is such as to readily absorb the effect of percussion. Its

lower end or peen strikes, preferably, upon a loose anvil or dolly block, of steel or other suitable material, that rests, for instance, on top of a pile or piles to be driven, and the lower end or peen is of such large area as not to be injuriously upset by the effect of the repeated blows.

In the preferred form of a power-driven hammer made in accordance with this invention, the piston and the piston .rod are stationary and rigidly connected to the valve chest, which in its turn is securely bolted to the frame. Channels bored through the piston rod admit steam alternately above and below the piston. The admission of steam is controlled by a rotary valve in the chest above the piston rod. This valve is actuated by a radial arm to the end of which is hung a heavy plimger operated in the manner hereinafter described. The cylinder or hammer pro-per has no permanent or fixed connection with the valve gear. At the end of the up stroke the hammer strikes the plunger, rotating the valve and admitting steam under the piston, whereby the cylinder or hammer is propelled downward and strikes the blow. The percussion of the blow causes the plunger to fall suddenly, thereby reversing the valve, openingthe exhaust and admitting steam for the up stroke.

A buffer slfiring, or other suitable device, limits thev fall of the plunger. The parts should preferably, be made of open hearth steel and they are practically indestructible, being heavy and of ample strength. The parts are, moreover, easily accessible and renewable.

Illustrated in the drawings forming part of this application is a preferred form of a power-driven hammer made in accordance with this invention.

In the several figures of the drawings like letters denote like parts.

A is the frame of the power-driven hammer.

B B represent means with which the frameA is provided for engagement with a suitable standard or standards in order to keep the power-driven hammer in suitable position while in operation. In the drawings the means B B are shown as consisting of arms or fingers adapted to encircle partially one side 8 of a steel sheet pile, as shown, in Fig. 1, whereby the power hammer is adapted especially for driving steel sheet piling, as in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

C C are guides with which the frame A is provided.

D is the cylinder or hammer proper. The cylinder D is provided with grooves E E which fit upon the guides C C, so that the cylinder or hammer proper is adapted to slide or move freely up and down upon the guides C C.

F is the valve-chest, which is firmly secured, as by suitable bolts, to the top of the frame A.

G- is an inlet for the admission of steam.

H is an outlet for the exit of steam.

I is a rotary valve, shown in the drawings (Figs. 4 and 6) as a valve of the double- D type. The parts of the valve I are, preferably, so constructed and. adjusted that the two D-shaped lids J J and the ports or openings K, K. and L, L are respectively opposite each other, as shown in Fig. 4, to balance valve I, which is always subject to full steam pressure.

The piston N is secured to the lower end of the piston rod M. The piston rod M passes through the opening 0 in the top of the frame A and is screwed'into a perforation P in the valve-chest F, whereupon the upper end of the-rod M is cut off in such manner as to conform to the cylindrical surface of the space or cavity Q of the valvechest F. Thereupon cylindrical sleeve R, adapted to fit closely the cylindrical surface of the space or cavity Q, is inserted into the space Q, with the result that the piston rod M is securely held in position and prevented from unscrewing. A channel S passes through the piston N, the piston rod Ni and the sleeve R, thus furnishing a passage for steam or other agent between that part of the chamber T of the hammer proper end of the valve-stem 01.

D which is below the piston N and the port L of the valve I. A second channel U passes through the upper end only of the piston N, through the piston rod M and the sleeve R, and, by means of a lateral chanwith which it connects, furnishes a passage for steam or other agent between that part of the chamber T of the hammer pro-per D which is above the piston N and the port K of the valve I. The piston N is suitably provided with stutfing or packing rings as at u. r

A cup consisting of a stuffing-box IV surrounds the piston rod M and closes the up per end of the chamber T of the hammer proper D, being firmly secured to the upper end of the hammer proper D, as by means of suitable nuts and bolts. may be constructed of the part X, the parts Y, Y inserted into the part X, the stuffing Z and the stuffing-box gland or cover (ascrewed upon the top of the part X. As shown in Fig. 9. the cover or stuffing-box gland a is split, as at Z), and a bolt 0, provided with a screw nut (Z at one end, passes through perforations at the split part in order that the cover or stutfing-box gland a may be firmly secured In order to prevent the cover or gland a from unscrewing, the bolt (2 is made ;to pass in contact with one side of the part X, which, at the place of contact with the bolt, is made flat, as shown in Fig. 9. The construction described secures the cover or The stufling-box W l gland a firmly in position and prevents the escape of steam by reason of any loosening or unscrewing of the gland a.

e is a heavy plunger movable vertically and resting in the sleeve 7 which depends from the base piece of the valve-chest. F (see Figs. 1, 7 and S). The plunger 0 is provided at its lower part with a should-er and a cushion or butler spring h contacting with the shoulder and the bottom I? of the sleeve f limits the fall of the plunger and prevents the plunger, when it falls, from striking the metal of the sleeve 7 in which it works, thus avoiding injury to the plunger and to the sleeve and relieving the valve I from injury at the time of percussion. As shown in Fig. 8, the plunger 6 is provided with a second shoulder 71 adapted to strike against the bar j and thereby limit the upward move ment of the plunger. The limitation of the upward movement of the ph'lnger prevents injury to the valve I, and together with the limitation of its downward movement, insures the proper functioning of the valve.

The upper end of the plunger 0 is connected, as by a link 70, to one end of an arm m, which at its other end is secured to one As shown in Fi Ill) 7o. nel V in the upper part of the plston is,

6, the end of the valve-stem n, to which the arm m is secured, is of greater diameter, as at n, than it is at the other end as atn, the result of which is, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, that a difference of area or extent-of surface upon which the pressure of'the steam is exerted exists between the two ends of the valve-stem n, especially at the shoulders n and n", so that the resultant effect of the steam pres sure upon the valve-stem a is to press the shoulder a against thevalve cover 0 (as shown in Fig. 6), thereby creating the action of a brake, due to the friction, and thus preventing the plunger from falling by gravity prematurely or before the hammer proper D reaches the end of its downward stroke, when the percussion of the blow struck by the hammer proper D will cause the plunger to fall.

By preventing, as in the manner described, the premature fallof the plunger, the action of the valve I will not be reversed before the hammer proper D has reached the end of its downward stroke.

p is a loose anvil or dolly block upon which the lower end of the hammer proper D strikes on its downward stroke. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the anvil or dolly block 79 is, preferably, made in the form of a cross, the more readily to drive corner piles.

The operation of a power-driven hammer, made, as above described, in accordance with this invention, is as follows: Then the hammer D is in its lowest position, with its lower end resting on the anvil p, the parts of the valve I, the plunger 6, and the parts connecting the valve and plunger are in the relative positions shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Steam or other agent then entering the inlet G passes into the chamber Q of the valve, thence through the port K, channel U and channel V into that part of the chamber T- of the hammer D that is above the piston N, thereby forcing the hammer D to rise, sliding upon the guides C C,until its upper end or cover 7 strikes the lower end of plunger 6 and forces or carries the plunger upward until the shoulder 2' of the plunger reaches and strikes against the limiting bar or stop 9'. The rise of the plunger carries upward the link L and that end of the armor lever m with which the link is connected. The other end of the arm-orlever m, being secured to one end of the rotatable valve-stem n, causes the valve-stem to revolve with it sufficiently to shift the positions of the D- shaped lids J J from those shown in Fig. at

to reverse positions, that is to say, to positions such that the ports K and K leading from the chamber 9 of the valve I are closed and the port L is opened, port L being closed, so that steam now passes from the ED-shaped lids J J and as the hammer D descends, the steam in the chamber T above the piston N passes up through channels V and U and the now communicating ports K and K into the chamber 1" of the valve I and thence out through the exit H. In like manner, when the hammer D is rising, due to the admission of steam in the chamber .T above the piston N, the steam in the chamber T below the piston passes up through channel S and the then communicating ports L and L into the chamber 1" of: the valve I and thence out through the exit H. While the hammer D is descending, the brake action above described, due to the friction between the shoulder 11/ of the valve-stem n and the valve cover 0 caused by the pressure of the steam upon unequal areas of surface near the two ends of the valve-stem n in the manner described, holds the arm or lever m and the plunger 6 suspended therefrom in place and prevents the plunger from falling by gravity and the consequent reversal of the action of the valve until the percussion arising from the blow struck by the hammer D, at the end of its downward stroke, upon the anvil 2) suddenly overcomes the described brake action and causes and permits the plunger to fall. The sudden fall of the plunger, at the time when the hammer D strikes its downward blow, is, of course, accompanied with the downward movement of that end of the arm or lever m to which the plunger is connected by the link 70, and with the consequent reversal of the action of the valve I at this proper point of time. The fall of the plunger is limited by the cushion or buffer spring h in the manner and for the purposes above mentioned.

The advantages of a power-driven hammer constructed and operated as described according to this invention will be clear to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains and familiar with the difficulties heretofore encountered in the construction and use of power-driven hammers.

A power-driven hammer made in accordance with this invention is capable of effective and continuous service. The parts are so constructed and combined as to resist the wear and tear to which the hammer is subject and to keep the hammer in service instead of in the repair shop. Moreover, as

heretofore pointed out and. as shown in Fig.

1, the hammer, forming the subject matter of this invention, is especially adapted for use in the driving of sheet steel piling.

By balancing the valve 1, as in the manner described, tree motion of the plunger 6 and of the valve is secured.

By providing the frame A with means, such as the arms or fingers'B B, for engaging steel sheet piling, as shown in Fig. 1, for example, the hammer may be automatically guided and held in pro-per place by an adjacent pile, during operation on another pile or piles, whereby the hammer does more effective work and upsetting and injury to the tops of the driven piles are avoided.

What I claim is 1. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction only of the hammer proper, a reversible valve and means connecting the plunger with the valve, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, substantially as described.

2. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a sleeve, a plunger movable in the sleeve, a reversible valve and means connecting the plunger with the valve, the plunger being free from connection with the hammer, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, substantially as described.

3. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a sleeve, a plunger provided with a shoulder near its lower end and movable in the sleeve, a cushion between the shoulder and the bottom of the sleeve, a reversible valve and means connecting the plunger with the valve, substantially as described.

t. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a sleeve, a plunger movable in the sleeve, a cushion to limit the movement of the plunger in the direction of the movement of the hammer proper when the hammer proper strikes its blow, a reversible valve, and means connecting the plunger with the valve, substantially as described.

5. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a sleeve, a plunger provided with a shoulder and movable in the sleeve, a stop adapted to engage with said shoulder and limit the movement of the plunger in the direction in which the plunger moves when the hammer proper contacts therewith, a reversible valve and means connecting the plunger with the valve, substantially as described.

6. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a

plunger in the line of movement in one direction only of the hammer proper, a stop to limit the movement of the plunger when the hammer proper contacts therewith, a reversible valve and means connecting the.

plunger with the valve, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, substantially as described.

7 A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a valve-chest, asleeve secured to the valvechest, a plunger movable in the sleeve, a re-. versible valve in the valve-chest and means 1 connecting the plunger with the valve, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, subcombination a movable hammer proper, a

plunger in the line of movement in one direction of the hammer proper, a reversible valve, means connecting the plunger with the valve and a brake to control the movement of the plunger, substantially as described.

10. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction of the hammer proper, a reversible valve, means connecting the plunger with the valve and a brake to control the move ment of the plunger, said brake comprising a part presenting two different areas upon which steam pressure is exerted, and a second part against which the first part is pressed, substantially as described.

11. A powerdriven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction of the hammer proper, a reversible valve, means connecting the plunger with the valve, and a brake to control the movement of the plunger, said brake comprising the stem of the valve presenting two diflerent areas upon which steam pressure is exerted, and a part against which the stem of the valve is pressed, substantially as de scribed.

12. A powerdrlven hammer comprising in combination a valve-chest provlded with a chamber and with a perforation co-mmunieating with the chamber, a piston-rod one end of which is inserted into and closely fits the perforation, the piston-rod being provided with channels communicating with the chamber, a sleeve within the chamber to prevent the piston-rod from turning, and a hammer proper movable upon the piston-rod substantially as described.

13. A power driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper provided with a chamber, a piston and piston-rod provided with channels, the piston being within the chamber of the hammer proper and the said channels communicating, respectively, with the parts of the chamber which are above and below the piston, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction only of the hammer proper, a valve-chest communicating with the channels of the piston-rod, a reversible valve in the valve-chest and means connecting the plunger with the valve, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, substantially as described.

14. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper provided with a chamber, a piston and piston-rod provided with channels, the piston being within the chamber of the hammer proper and the said channels communicating, respectively, with the parts of the chamber which are above and below the piston, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction of the hammer proper, a valve-chest communicating with the channels of the piston-rod, a reversible valve in the valve-chest, means connecting the plunger with the valve, and a brake to control the movement of the plunger, said brake comprising a part presenting two diiferent areas upon which steam pressure is exerted, and a second part against which the first part is pressed, substantially as described.

15. A powerdriven hammer comprising in combination a movable hammer proper provided with a chamber, a piston and piston-rod provided with channels, the piston being within the chamber of the hammer proper and the said channels communicating, respectively, with the parts of the chamber which are above and below the piston, a valve-chest provided with a chamber and with a perforation communicating with the chamber thereof, one end of the piston-rod being inserted into and closely fitting the perforation and the said channels communicating with the chamber of the valve-chest, a sleeve within the chamber of the valvechest to prevent the piston-rod from turning, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction of the hammer proper, a reversible valve in the valve-chest and means connecting the plunger with the valve, substantially as described.

16. A power-driven hammer comprising in combination a frame, a hammer proper movable upon the frame and provided with a chamber, a piston and piston-rod provided with channels, the piston being within the chamber of the hammer proper and the said channels communicating, respectively, with the parts of the chamber which are above and below the piston, a plunger in the line of movement in one direction only of the hammer proper, a valvechest communicating with the channels of the piston-rod, a reversible valve in the valve-chest and means connecting the plunger with the valve, whereby the valve will be operated by the hammer during its upward stroke only, substantially as described.

17. A power hammer actuated by a source of power such as steam or compressed air, comprising in combination a frame, a hammer proper movable upon the frame, a double-acting cylinder, a piston, said doubleacting cylinder and piston actuating the hammer proper, a reversible valve controlling the admission of steam or air, means for operating the said valve by the hammer proper during its upward stroke only and means whereby the reversal of the valve is caused by the concussion produced by the hammer proper at the moment of striking, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two witnesses this first day of December, 1911.

AUG. A. GOUBERT.

Witnesses:

W. A. TULEY, J. W. WRIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01,! Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

